


Heroes Don't Die, They Just Get Abducted By Aliens

by captainkathryncoffeejaneway



Category: Star Trek: Voyager
Genre: Episode: s02e01 The 37's, F/F, Period-Typical Homophobia, very brief mention and it's resolved with warm fuzzy feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-22
Updated: 2015-12-22
Packaged: 2018-05-08 09:33:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5492303
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/captainkathryncoffeejaneway/pseuds/captainkathryncoffeejaneway
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Thirty years before Voyager found a 1937 Ford pickup truck in the depths of the Delta Quadrant, a nine-year-old Kathryn Janeway read a book called Amelia Earhart: Flying Around the World. A few days later her bedroom walls were plastered with replicated posters of the woman who had attempted to fly the world. </p>
<p>At fifteen, Kathryn discovered the rumours that Earhart had been bisexual, and a quiet acceptance and certainty settled into place within her chest. </p>
<p>At twenty, when Kathryn was graduating, valedictorian of her physics class at university, she cited Earhart as one of her inspirations for pursuing further study at Starfleet Academy.</p>
<p>And at thirty-nine, when Voyager discovered a stasis chamber hidden in the depths of an unknown M-class planet, far out in the unknown, hostile Delta Quadrant, Kathryn Janeway’s lifelong dream came true, and she met Amelia Earhart.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Heroes Don't Die, They Just Get Abducted By Aliens

“It’s a female,” she said, erasing the dust covering the front of the cryochamber with the flat of her hand. “She’s wearing some kind of leather jacket, and a pair of gold wings… Wait. There’s a nametag here. I think it’s A, period. E-A-R-H-A-R-T. Earhart.” 

Kathryn drew in a quick, shattered breath and turned to face B’Elanna, who looked equally amazed. “Amelia Earhart.”

Later, at the briefing, Kathryn struggled to keep her face impassive while she explained Earhart’s significance. But whatever the expression on her face, her voice betrayed her raw admiration of the woman who had disappeared over 400 years ago; a woman who would be merely a relic to many on board the Voyager, and certainly nothing but an antique to those back home on Earth. And yet. Kathryn had always felt righteously furious at Earhart’s struggles to be allowed to fly, and the few whispers of discontent she had heard at her own appointment to the Captaincy of the Voyager had only ever made her more determined to honour Earhart’s legacy. So the senior officers were given the Janeway lecture on Amelia Earhart. She figured they could survive. And when Tom Paris gave voice to her own thoughts by suggesting they revive the people in the stasis chamber, she agreed, glad she hadn’t had to suggest it herself and risk exposing her secret dreams to everyone in the room.

Watching Amelia Earhart wake up after 400 years was the most incredible experience of her life to date. Watching those dark, expressive eyes open for the first time since 1937 was in equal measure bizarre and transcendent, and Kathryn had to swallow harshly a few times before trusting her voice to remain steady. She stepped forwards as Earhart pushed herself off the lintel of her cryochamber, stepping out of the chamber and into the main area. Those dark eyes found hers, and as she smiled – a shade too wonderingly to be strictly Starfleet-appropriate – Kathryn realized that her own blue eyes were the first Amelia’s dark eyes had seen since 1937. She stretched out a hand, proud that here, where her childhood dreams and idle fantasies were coming true, her fingers were steady, kind. Amelia moved closer, eyes scanning Kathryn’s face for information, and their fingers brushed close. A clunk from behind Kathryn made her jump away – thank all the gods – as a big man in a rumpled suit made a beeline for the slight, androgynous Earhart and wrapped her in a hug. Once again, Kathryn stood, speechless, as she realized that this was Fred Noonan, Earhart’s legendary navigator. 

Her awe soon dissipated, however, once she realized that in all likelihood, Noonan had been drinking himself silly during that balmy summer’s morning over the Pacific. The gun pointed directly at her head shook slightly in Noonan’s hand as he took another gulp from his hip flask, and she made sure her voice was Starfleet-issue reassuring before she spoke. She and the other Starfleet officers ended up backed into one corner of the room – but at least Noonan hadn’t killed them, and so she counted it a win. 

From where she was sitting, Kathryn watched Amelia pace, oversized leather jacket dwarfing her frame. Her gaze slid down the other woman’s body, noting the scratch marks in the leather made by being thrown against countless pieces of machinery in the middle of turbulence. With a sudden, vicious shock of desire, she noted Amelia’s waist and the subtle flare of her hips, neat and angular underneath the waistband of her baggy trousers. Kathryn chewed absentmindedly on a fingernail as she averted her eyes, staring into space. 

“He’s been taking a few nips from that flask, Captain,” Tom Paris said quietly, and she realized with a surge of affection that he’d been keeping an eye on Noonan for her. “We could probably rush him, get the gun.” 

“Let me talk to Earhart first,” she replied instead, voice low and husky with her poorly-suppressed desire. Mentally she slapped herself. “She seems reasonable. Maybe I can get through to her.”

The moment Earhart turned in answer to her call, she realized she might be in over her head. And so she told the truth. She hadn’t been planning to lie; she’d planned to be honest, but maybe not quite so honest as this.  
“I want you to know,” she said, searching Amelia’s dark eyes for some hint of her thoughts, “you’ve always been an inspiration to me. Because of you, generations of women have become pilots.”

Amelia’s mouth twisted up, bitter and disbelieving, as she queried, “Generations?” 

Suddenly her mind seemed to take a different tangent, and she asked, “What’s your name?” 

Kathryn was very grateful her voice was as low and confident as it always was as she replied, giving this woman – her childhood hero – her name. As they talked, Kathryn became more confident at reading Amelia’s tells – her eyes, moving nervously and quickly across Kathryn’s face; her mouth, quirking to the left in disbelief. Her statement that Amelia’s last flight might have been financed by the American government felt harsh, too cruel an exposé for this woman so many light-years from home; but it was necessary, and it had the desired result.

“No one was supposed to know about that,” Amelia said, and Kathryn realized the other woman finally believed her.  
 “Maybe not in 1937. Now? It’s part of history,” she replied.

A few seconds later, Noonan grabbed Kathryn’s hand in an attempt to force her to show him how to operate the cryochamber. Amelia wrenched his hand away immediately and confiscated his gun. The look Kathryn and she shared made a shiver of excitement run down Kathryn’s spine, and seeing Amelia turn, sharply, on her heel and take control of the situation made Kathryn realize that two centuries later, Amelia Earhart would have made a fine Starfleet Captain herself. 

\--

Amelia seemed quieter than before, while the Voyager crew and the 37s toured the planet’s cities. At first Kathryn remained similarly quiet, not wanting to intrude, but after the second city failed to elicit any major response from Amelia, Kathryn took her arm and pulled her aside, waving off Tuvok’s concerned gaze, saying, "We'll see you back on the ship, Tuvok."  
Amelia frowned at her, telegraphing her confusion, but didn’t pull her arm away, and so they walked down a dusty side street of tall white buildings until they found a blind alleyway. 

Once they could no longer be seen by any member of the tour peering down the street, Kathryn turned, and, facing Amelia, asked her gently, “Are you ok?”

Amelia smiled, a tight, strained grimace completely different to either her bitter, disbelieving smile or the smile full of wonder and awe which Kathryn had seen when Amelia had first glimpsed Voyager. Throwing her arms up in an exaggerated shrug, she said, “Your doctor - the medical hologram, am I right? – he saved my navigator’s life.” 

Kathryn’s eyes widened as she clasped Amelia’s shoulders. “We were glad to be able to help –“

“He thought he was dying,” Amelia interrupted. “And the drunken fool decided to tell me that he loved me.” 

“Oh,” Kathryn frowned, beginning to remove her hands from where they lay on Amelia’s bony shoulders. Amelia twisted her head and shoved herself back to lean against the wall of one of the buildings. The tendons in her neck stood out in stark relief and Kathryn pulled her hands away sharply to stop herself tracing those tendons with her fingers. Suddenly, though, Amelia’s hands were wrapped around her own, uncurling her fingers, searching, where they’d begun to curl up in self-denial.

“That was the good thing about our relationship,” Amelia said quietly. “I knew he wasn’t interested in me like that. If I’d had any idea he was, I’d never have let him come on the trip. A pilot has to be able to trust her crewmen, and romance – or sex – only gets in the way of that.” 

Kathryn gazed down at their intertwined fingers. “I know,” she said softly, thinking of Chakotay’s brown eyes, following her when he thought she wouldn’t notice. 

Amelia narrowed her eyes, moved closer, tilted her head. “I think you understand my predicament well, Captain.” 

“Call me Kathryn,” she said suddenly, gazing down at Amelia’s face – Amelia’s lips. With a jolt of embarrassment, she realized the other woman was smiling, and once again she pulled away, confused at her own visceral desire.

“Has this also survived into your time, Kathryn?” Amelia asked, slowly tracing the taller woman's jaw. 

"Has what survived?" Kathryn asked, as her eyes slid shut and she slid her hands up Amelia's arms, feeling lean sinew underneath the heavy leather jacket. 

"The rumours of my bisexuality, Kathryn. Is Amelia Earhart known as much for her bisexuality as for her flying, in the twenty-fourth century?"

Kathryn drew in a deep, sudden breath and opened her eyes. Amelia stood so close they were nose to nose, and it took very little effort to reach down and kiss those pale lips. They were soft, and smooth from the cryochamber's automatic environment. Kathryn smiled into the kiss, and slid her hands under the leather jacket. Amelia's body was warm through the thin layers of her shirt, and Kathryn ran her hands down the flare of those hips towards Amelia's ass. As she did so, Amelia gasped, and, breaking their kiss, reversed their positions. Kathryn's back hit the wall of the building with a thump and she groaned, desire writ large over her face. 

Amelia grinned, eyes wide at the sight of Kathryn, still in her Starfleet uniform, lips swollen and red from kissing. She leaned in again, kissing the taller woman with a renewed vigour as she inched a hand from Kathryn's waist to the underside of one still-clothed breast. Kathryn groaned again into the kiss and tore her mouth away to gulp in air, saying, "I was fifteen." 

Amelia paused in her exploration of the inner workings of Starfleet jackets. "What?" 

"I was fifteen," Kathryn repeated, as she unbuttoned most of the buttons on Amelia's shirt, "when I read an article which said you were bisexual, and I realised then that I'm also bi. I guess, I was too much of a nerdy kid to read the literature and pamphlets we have now, so I worked out my sexual identity by reading about a woman whose bisexuality wasn't even really accepted in her day. But that article helped, a lot. You helped me." 

Amelia stood, one hand inside Kathryn's jacket and a fierce light in her eyes. "You have information about sexuality, freely available? People who are bi aren't just considered easy? Or confused?” 

"All the gods, no." Kathryn smiled, running a finger down the tendons in Amelia's neck and her collarbone. "People are accepted for who they are in the 24th century, and I never had any doubt that my parents and friends would accept me when I came out." 

"You make it sound so simple," Amelia said wonderingly. 

"It was, for me," Kathryn said. "I think things have improved since 1937." 

"I think they’ve definitely improved," Amelia said quietly as she leaned up to kiss Kathryn. Her breasts, still encased in her bra, dragged against Kathryn's, now liberated from the confines of her jacket, and suddenly a jolt of pure lust shot through Kathryn. She quickly reversed their positions, raising an eyebrow and glancing up at Amelia, who smiled, once more leaning against the wall of the white-painted building. Gathering her confidence, Kathryn dragged down the zipper on the other woman’s trousers. She slid her hand underneath Amelia’s underpants and cupped her mound, grinning with exhilaration as Amelia exhaled, a sharp, shattered sound. 

“Goddammit,” Amelia said, low and urgent as she undid her bra. “It’s been four hundred years, Kathryn.”

So Kathryn leaned down and licked Amelia’s breast, while she neatly dodged her clit in favour of sliding a finger into the other woman’s pussy. Amelia groaned, throwing her head back to smack against the wall, and Kathryn abandoned her breast in favour of sucking a hickey just below Amelia’s collarbone. Soon, the other woman was panting and saying, “More - more, faster,” as she moved on Kathryn’s fingers, and shortly afterwards she hit her climax, letting a long moan escape the hand she’d clamped over her own mouth as she shook and shivered on Kathryn’s fingers.

Kathryn petted her side as she came down from her orgasm, kissing her gently until Amelia opened her eyes. She grinned blearily at Kathryn, shifting slightly so her thigh found its way between Kathryn’s legs. Kathryn’s hips jerked, almost without conscious thought, and she blushed slightly. Amelia looked up at her, saying incredulously, “Now you’re embarrassed?” 

“Now I’m turned on,” Kathryn replied, as if annoyed, as she licked her fingers clean of Amelia, who surged up, kissing her fiercely as she slid a hand into Kathryn’s underwear. To Kathryn’s amusement she was soon clutching Amelia’s waist and thrusting herself onto her fingers. Suddenly, Amelia pulled herself away from Kathryn’s lips and scraped her teeth over a spot just behind Kathryn’s ear, while at the same time her thumb passed swiftly once, twice, thrice over Kathryn's clit. Kathryn gasped, leaning on Amelia’s shoulder, and it was the feel of the rough leather jacket underneath her fingers and the sudden realisation that Amelia Earhart was inside her which sent her suddenly over the edge. She slumped against Amelia's shoulder as she caught her breath, grateful Amelia was unable to see the giant grin creeping over her face.

"Damn, girl," Amelia said quietly, "You're something else, aren't you."

"So are you, darling," Kathryn lifted her head, cradling Amelia's face between her two hands. "How do you feel?" 

"Like I've just had the best fuck in a very long time, to be honest," Amelia said as Kathryn's eyes widened in delight, and she leaned back against the wall in laughter. 

"Come," she said, once she got her breath back. "We should get back to the ship, at some point at least." 

Nodding in agreement, Amelia reached out to refasten Kathryn's clothes, and when Kathryn reached out to do the same in turn, she smiled, her light touch already bittersweet. 

\--

1430 hours, and Kathryn stood outside Voyager, savouring the cool breeze brought by the planet's early summer. In thirty minutes she would find out which of the crew had decided to stay on the planet. In the interim, she had decided to get away from the ship, in the hopes that the distance might calm her nerves. So far all it had done was give her mind enough quiet to conjure up all sorts of disastrous scenarios - what if all the crew decided to stay? what if fifty of the crew decided to stay? what if they were unable to pilot Voyager back home because they were lacking one or two essential crew? - so she resorted to meditation breathing techniques, which helped somewhat. 

Suddenly, she heard her name being called, and she looked up to see Amelia walking towards her from Voyager, a bunch of yellow flowers in one hand.

“I wanted you to know,” she said, “the group you brought out of stasis, we’ve all decided to stay here on the planet.” She looked at Kathryn like she was searching for some kind of absolution, and Kathryn’s heart sank. 

“I understand,” Kathryn said, lifting her eyes to the sky to preempt the tears which threatened.

“I must admit, the thought of travelling through space, maybe even learning to fly this ship, it was very appealing to me.”

“And I’d looked forward to getting to know you better.” Kathryn smiled at Amelia, hoping she’d understand what she was trying to say. “I think we have a lot in common.”

“At first, I didn’t know what to do,” Amelia said. “We talked about it for quite some time. Finally I realised, the people here on this planet are part of us.We’re their ancestors, in a way. It made me feel close to them.”

Kathryn nodded again. As much as she’d miss the opportunity to get to know Amelia, she couldn’t fault her reasoning. It was the honourable thing to do - heck, she’d probably do it herself if she were in Amelia’s shoes.

“And something I realised, Kathryn - as wonderful as learning to fly Voyager would have been, as wonderful as you are, it would have created problems for you,” Amelia said sadly. “Like I said earlier, a pilot has to be able to trust her crewmen, and romance, or sex - they get in the way. I couldn’t do that to you.”

Kathryn sniffed suddenly, reaching out to draw Amelia into a hug. “We could have been amazing together, in every possible way, you know that? But still, I can’t disagree with you.” 

Amelia’s hands wound around Kathryn, grasping her tightly. “I wish I could go with you.”    
“I wish you could too,” Kathryn said, hiding her face for one brief second against Amelia’s neck. “But I have no doubt you could do much for this planet, and I admire your courage - now, as ever.”

Amelia laughed, a jagged, tearful sound, and pulled away from Kathryn slightly before kissing her, deep and sweet. Kathryn kissed back, hands framing Amelia’s face, aware of her tears threatening to spill over. And then she pulled back, stepping away from Amelia and saluting her.

“It’s nearly 1500 hours,” she said quietly. “I should get back.”

“These are for you,” Amelia replied, thrusting the yellow flowers towards her. “Goodbye, Kathryn Janeway.” 

Kathryn took the yellow flowers and fled towards Voyager. As she entered her quarters, she realised that the moisture on her fingers was the tears she’d felt making their tracks down Amelia’s face while they kissed, and she sat down suddenly on a chair and wept.

**Author's Note:**

> I watched 'The 37s' a few days ago and to my little shippy mind, it's blatantly obvious that Janeway and Earhart would have a thing for each other. They're both ahead of their time, they're both female explorers in what is still a relatively male-dominated world. Earhart is exactly the kind of woman Janeway would both idolise and fall in love with. When I realised there was no fic of them together, I wrote my own - which, thanks, because this has ended a rather long period of writer's block! 
> 
> Historical note: there is a rumour that Earhart was bi (it's discussed in the 2009 film 'Amelia', with Hilary Swank). I have no idea if Fred Noonan was in love with her or not, but it's a plot point in the episode.
> 
> All characters belong to Paramount. I intend no copyright breach; this writing is allowed under 'fair use' copyright provisions.


End file.
